SSMTP with GMail

crouse · 2008-10-08 22:12:30

SSMTP with GMail
In arch this is very simple to setup
If your like me, you don't need a full blown mail server, since I use gmail (my @archlinux.us email )for most everything. But it's nice to have a quick easy way to get automated mail off your machine and to a mail hub. Enter ssmtp

[crouse@VistaCrusher ~]$ pacman -Ss ssmtp
extra/ssmtp 2.62-2
    Extremely simple MTA to get mail off the system to a mailhub

Installing in arch.... piece of cake.....

[root@VistaCrusher ~]# pacman -S ssmtp
resolving dependencies...
looking for inter-conflicts...

Targets (1): ssmtp-2.62-2

Total Download Size:    0.02 MB
Total Installed Size:   0.07 MB

Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
:: Retrieving packages from extra...
 ssmtp-2.62-2-x86_64       21.4K   63.6K/s 00:00:00 [######################] 100%
checking package integrity...
(1/1) checking for file conflicts                   [######################] 100%
(1/1) installing ssmtp                              [######################] 100%
[root@VistaCrusher ~]#

Now you have 2 files to edit.

In /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf, set the following:

root=youraccount@gmail.com
mailhub=smtp.gmail.com:587
rewriteDomain=
hostname=youraccount@gmail.com
UseSTARTTLS=YES
AuthUser=youraccount
AuthPass=yourpasword
FromLineOverride=YES

In /etc/ssmtp/revaliases:

root:youraccount@gmail.com:smtp.gmail.com:587
mainuser:youraccount@gmail.com:smtp.gmail.com:587

I setup mine for my @archlinux.us account...... works great
You can test if it's working by sending your email (to a different account than what you setup for ) by opening a terminal......

echo test | mail -s "testing ssmtp setup" USERNAME@SOMEDOMAIN.COM

USERNAME@SOMEDOMAIN.COM would of course be an email YOU can check

That's all folks, it's THAT simple

An article on ssmtp
http://www.linux.com/feature/132006

Last edited by crouse (2008-10-08 22:13:25)

finferflu · 2008-10-08 23:00:28

This would make a nice wiki entry

odf · 2008-10-09 01:14:42

Edit : Oups typo in the password Very nice and thank you

Last edited by odf (2008-10-09 01:18:09)

fukawi2 · 2008-10-09 02:51:54

finferflu wrote:

This would make a nice wiki entry

Yep

finferflu · 2008-11-05 18:37:43

I took the liberty of adding this to the wiki myself. Feel free to edit it and improve it as you wish: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SSMTP_and_Gmail

Daenyth · 2008-11-05 23:11:26

Thanks! I wondered how to do this, never knew it was so simple.

Ruckus · 2008-11-06 02:50:58

How would you send an email from an alias domain? I have three domain names in my google apps. georgemh.com(Main Email) stayanon.com and wpge.org. I need to send email with the wpge.org domain. The above method only works if you use your main account.

fukawi2 · 2008-11-06 02:52:29

AFAIK, Google rewrite any mail going through their server to use your @gmail.com address. You might need to look into using Postfix instead of sSMTP

kgas · 2008-11-09 19:18:19

Thanks for the nice post. The wiki page contains typo error (ssmpt instead of ssmtp) pl correct it. Also another method is using a text file. For eg create a text file contains the following

To:yourcontact@mailserver.com
From:your_mail address
Subject: Arch linux

Arch linux is a cute and nice distribution.

1. It uses the KISS technology

2. Automatic upgrade thro' pacman

3. Bleeding edge

5. More secure software installation

Give it a Try
------------------
and save this file as test
now (note: one space should be there after subject:)
#ssmtp your_contact_address < test

In this method you can auomate to send mails to your contacts thro' a simple bash script.
Reference: http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/10/2 … ith-ssmtp/

finferflu · 2008-11-09 19:50:22

Thanks kgas, I have updated the wiki page, please correct it if you feel there is any error or innacuracy.

Also notice that you are allowed (and also incouraged) to edit the wiki!

haxit · 2008-11-09 20:13:48

Looks awesome.

crouse · 2008-11-10 00:21:08

finferflu wrote:

I took the liberty of adding this to the wiki myself. Feel free to edit it and improve it as you wish: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SSMTP_and_Gmail

Thanks finferflu

Daenyth · 2008-11-16 12:53:54

Wouldn't this let ANY user on the system send email from your gmail address? Also you should chmod 600 the conf file anyway, plaintext password, etc.

EDIT: I'm silly, I guess the revaliases are so that only your user can send.

Last edited by Daenyth (2008-11-16 12:57:38)

Bram · 2008-11-18 11:24:21

I just set this up because I want to send mail with a php script using the gmail smtp servers. It works fine when I use it as root but not as any other user
I have setup the revaliases file (both with my normal user account (bram) and the http user.

when I try to send mail as "bram" using this command:
"echo test | mail -s "test" bram.jessen@gmail.com"

I get this as a return:
"send-mail: 530 5.7.0 Must issue a STARTTLS command first. x37sm3643260ugc.50"

I have setup the ssmtp config file as in the wiki entry
Any ideas on how to fix this?

Last edited by Bram (2008-11-18 11:26:18)

Daenyth · 2008-11-19 14:18:22

How long does it take for the test email to be sent? I tried sending it to myself but I haven't received it yet.

EDIT: It took between 2-5 minutes.

EDIT2: Using this method, how do I attach a file?

Last edited by Daenyth (2008-11-19 15:45:34)

Daenyth · 2008-12-04 00:45:06

How do I get it to send cronjob, etc emails to my email address? In my ssmtp.conf I have

root=myuser@gmail.com

But when I look in gmail at my sent mail, I see that it's addressed "to: root" and not "to: myuser@gmail.com"

brisbin33 · 2008-12-04 15:11:56

FWIW, any mutt user can

$ echo "body of email" | mutt -s "subject of email" address@domain.com

or even

$ echo "body of email" | mutt -s "subject of email" -a /file/to/attach.txt address@domain.com

i use it for cronjob/emailing reports/logs to myself

also, my mutt is set up with

set sendmail = /usr/bin/msmtp

which has just as simple a gmail setup as ssmtp, and i'm sure

set sendmail = /usr/bin/ssmtp

would work just fine too; as usual more than one way to skin a linux cat.

Last edited by brisbin33 (2008-12-04 19:24:43)

Daenyth · 2008-12-04 18:42:36

Yeah... Except I don't use mutt and don't plan to any time soon.

brisbin33 · 2008-12-04 19:16:00

[edited for clarity]

Daenyth wrote:

Yeah... Except I don't use mutt and don't plan to any time soon.

well funny you should say that...

(assuming you've set up ssmtp, if not i still recommend msmtp)

pacman -S mutt
vim ~/.muttrc

now add two lines:

set sendmail = /usr/bin/ssmtp
unset record

then try it:

echo "body" | mutt -s "subject" -a /file/to/send email@address.com

in theory... should do what you want without much fuss. and if that 2-5 minute delay is ssmtp related try msmtp, the config is simpler (i can give you mine) and my test email arrived immediately.

Last edited by brisbin33 (2008-12-04 19:24:34)

imrehg · 2009-04-06 08:30:30

Hi, I just tried this out and run into a few issues.

If I do the suggested

chmod 600 /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf

then no other user, just root can use that file. Thus every other user returns with error (since they don't know any settings). Maybe should all users have their own ssmtp.conf file?

Also, what is the exact purpose of the /etc/ssmtp/revaliases file? It does not stop any other (not listed) user sending an email from my account, as long as they can read the ssmtp.conf file....

JT · 2009-04-06 20:07:44

The same can be done with nail/mailx.

I use nail on my file server to email me important messages using a Gmail account.

The /etc/nail.rc file:

set smtp=smtp.gmail.com:587
set smtp-use-starttls
set ssl-verify=ignore
set ssl-auth=login
set smtp-auth-user=username@gmail.com
set smtp-auth-password=password

To send a message:

echo "...Message..." | nail username@email.com

Enjoy.

haxit · 2009-04-06 21:13:34

Very, very simple. Very awesome. Will make my own little script for sending emails now, from CLI, when I get back.

Last edited by haxit (2009-04-06 21:13:59)

my0pic · 2009-04-06 23:40:16

nail has been replaced with mailx-heirloom for the same functionality.
In my .bashrc I have a couple of functions to take care of sending email from cli that are quite handy

# usage: mailto <address> <subject> <text>
 function mailto()
 {
 echo $3 |mail -s "$2" "$1" &
 }

and for email with an attachment

# send an attachment from CLI
# usage: send <file> <address>
send() 
{
  echo "File sent from archie-bd." | mailx -s "See Attached File" -a $1 $2
}

borrell · 2009-04-08 00:27:48

does anyone know how to do the same thing with exim4 and google apps? (Tripwire requires exim4 apparently)

Daenyth · 2009-04-08 17:12:08

Is there any mailing system that will allow me to route transparently via my gmail account without having my gmail password in plaintext somewhere? It's really unacceptable from a security standpoint.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-10-08 22:12:30

SSMTP with GMail

#2 2008-10-08 23:00:28

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#3 2008-10-09 01:14:42

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#4 2008-10-09 02:51:54

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#5 2008-11-05 18:37:43

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#6 2008-11-05 23:11:26

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#7 2008-11-06 02:50:58

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#8 2008-11-06 02:52:29

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#9 2008-11-09 19:18:19

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#10 2008-11-09 19:50:22

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#11 2008-11-09 20:13:48

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#12 2008-11-10 00:21:08

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#13 2008-11-16 12:53:54

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#14 2008-11-18 11:24:21

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#15 2008-11-19 14:18:22

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#16 2008-12-04 00:45:06

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#17 2008-12-04 15:11:56

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#18 2008-12-04 18:42:36

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#19 2008-12-04 19:16:00

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#20 2009-04-06 08:30:30

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#21 2009-04-06 20:07:44

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#22 2009-04-06 21:13:34

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#23 2009-04-06 23:40:16

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#24 2009-04-08 00:27:48

Re: SSMTP with GMail

#25 2009-04-08 17:12:08

Re: SSMTP with GMail

Board footer